Typically, pre-filled syringes supplied by pharmaceutical companies are made from glass or similarly hard but brittle materials. Many such pre-filled syringes are manufactured to a recognized industry “standard” and are used in autoinjector devices for delivery of the pre-filled medicament. An example of an autoinjector device employing such a standard pre-filled syringe is described in WO-A-2007/083115 (The Medical House plc) where, within the device, a drive element acts on the flange of the syringe to advance it axially forwardly to insert the needle of the syringe into an injection site.
WO-A-2011/070346 (The Medical House Ltd) describes a syringe flange protector in the form of a spacer element that seeks to reduce the drive load applied to the syringe flange by redirecting it radially inwardly towards the main barrel of the syringe.
There remains a need to further minimize the risk of syringe breakage in autoinjector devices, since any breakage may lead to jamming of the device and, ultimately, failure to deliver the dose of medicament with potentially fatal consequences.
The present invention therefore seeks to minimize the risk of syringe breakage in autoinjector devices.